The present invention relates to nasal filtration, dilating, and breathing devices.
Every year millions of individuals spray chemicals into their nostrils and attach devices to their noses in an attempt to improve nasal breathing. A large percentage of the human population experience periodic nasal air passage restrictions resulting from sinus irritations, changes in barometric pressure, nasal structure and other causes. This condition is particularly annoying at night and often causes poor air filtration, disrupted sleep patterns, excessive breathing through the mouth, dry mouth, snoring, and other discomforts and health problems. Millions of dollars are spent each year on drugs and remedies to deal with this condition. People seeking a non-drug related solution to this problem have no option except some type of mechanical device or appliance. My Nasal Dilator Filter is the only single mechanical device that improves nasal breathing, air filtration, and the above stated conditions. There is currently no prior art that addresses all of these issues. Prior art has attempted to deal with these issues by applying devices to both the outside of the nose and by inserting devices into the nasal cavities. My invention is a simple adjustable, reusable nasal insert device.
Prior art mechanical nasal dilators and filtration devices can generally be classified as external or insertable. One example of the external type art is U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,103 by Johnson, granted Aug. 27, 1996. This type art attaches a flat spring to the outside of the nose with adhesives. In spite of several disadvantages this prior art has gained popularity and market success because it is somewhat effective and has virtually no competition. Some of the disadvantages of this external prior art includes; skin irritation, skin discoloration, allergic reactions, not adjustable, uncomfortable, expensive, not reusable and does not accommodate the wide variety of nose sizes and configurations. These devices can be put on one time and cannot be reused or readjusted. If they are put on wrong they must be removed and disposed. In addition, the force and contact of the spring across the bridge of the nose causes discomfort.
There have also been a number of attempts to develop insertable internal nasal devices, appliances or dilators to improve nasal breathing including: U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,543 by Lugi Corsaro, granted Mar. 17, 1998 entitled NASAL BREATHING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 1,255,578 by George Boxley, granted Feb. 5, 1918 entitled NASAL APPLIANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 1,481,581 by H. R. Woodward, granted Jan. 22, 1924, entitled NOSTRIL EXPANDER; U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,944 by Bjorn Petruson, granted Jan. 2, 1996 entitled NASAL DEVICES; U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,977 by Saeed Rezakhany, granted Nov. 15, 1983 entitled NASAL DILATOR; U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,217 by Robert L. Slater, granted May 6, 1980 entitled NOSTRIL EXPANDER; U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,365 by Leo Askinazy, granted Jul. 26, 1988 entitled SPRING COIL WIRE DEVICE; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,799 by Carlos Ramos Caballero, granted Jan. 16, 1973 entitled NOSE DILATOR. These devices have had limited or no commercial success in part due to significant disadvantages and design, development, or commercialization problems. Common Problems with these insertable prior art include; not comfortable, does not consider the wide variety of nose shapes and sizes, not adjustable, irritating, and not effective. In addition, most of these devices actually reduce nasal air filtration efficiency.
Air quality is becoming a problem of ever increasing concern. The air we breathe, particularly in our bedroom at night, often contains many particles and contaminants which cause allergic reactions and health problems. Our nasal cavity is designed to filter many of these contaminants but the efficiency of filtration is diminished in a large percentage of individuals due to allergies and configuration of the nasal cavity. Much of the contaminants including bacteria processed through the nostrils are captured and combined with mucus and either neutralized in the stomach or expelled from the nose. If these contaminants are breathed through the mouth many go strait to the lungs. The lungs cannot neutralize these contaminants as effectively as the stomach and more severe health problems can result. Unlike prior art, my dilator filter improves both nasal breathing and filtration thereby promoting better health.
There are also some insertable nasal air filtration art similar to disclosure U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,491, disclosing a Nose Filter. These and similar art filters do not decrease nasal air flow resistance. In fact, in many cases these devices actually increase air resistance and reduce the effective natural filtration surface inside the nose.
My nasal dilator filter provides an alternative to those who wish to use a mechanical device to improve nasal breathing and filtration. In addition, my invention does not have the disadvantages of the external nasal dilator. My invention addressed all of the disadvantages of prior art. In addition, none of the prior art provides the combined effects of my invention. My dilator filter has two uniquely designed adjustable loops for insertion into the nostrils. It was developed to incorporate a number of design and operational features to provide advantages over prior art. These advantages include:                a. Improved Sleep—Many individuals have a restriction near the nasal passage entrance that results in sleep pattern disruption. This condition is worsened by allergies and air pollution and is most noticeable at night. This restriction causes excessive breathing through the mouth which promotes dry mouth, snoring, and in some cases depravation of oxygen. My invention improves sleep by reducing nasal air flow resistance and promoting more nasal breathing, cleaner air intake, more oxygen and less breathing through the mouth.        b. Reduced air resistance through nasal passages—My invention uses two mechanisms to reduce nasal air resistance. When inserted my invention provides a nasal cavity form which tends to round out the vestibule thereby increasing the cross sectional airflow area. In addition the special configuration of the inserts provide shape and rigidity to the outside surface of the vestibule preventing restriction of the airflow passage during nasal breathing.        c. Increased nasal filtration efficiency—My invention improves nasal filtration efficiency in four ways. First, it makes a slight change in the configuration of the nasal cavity to increase the effective filtration area of the nasal cavity. Secondly, it provides an electrical charge to many of the contaminants to improve the efficiency of collection by the cilia and mucus in the nasal cavity. The charge is created materials that readily give up their electrons to other materials or particles. Particles that become negatively charged will be attracted to the positively charged cilia and surface inside the nasal cavity. The material in the air path will also attract particles in the air entering the nasal cavity. Thirdly, it promotes more nasal breathing such that contaminants can be processed in a more effective way. Fourthly, the nylon loop at the entrance to the nasal cavity will create a change in the air flow pattern which will result in more particles coming in contact with the walls of the nasal cavity and being captured and filtered.        d. Comfort to user—The prior art has significant disadvantages in this area. The external mechanical dilator concentrates a compression operation force on the bridge of the nose and tension forces on the outer skin of the nose in order to operate. These forces are applied to the outside of the nose with a strong adhesive. Current art that inserts in the nasal cavity does not readily accommodate the wide variety of nose sizes and configurations. In addition the configuration, force distribution and contact areas within the nasal cavity of these devices result in significant discomfort to the users. Comfort was a prime consideration for this invention. The configuration, size, material properties and placement inside the vestibule were determined to maximize user comfort.        e. Drug Free—Drug related dilators can have serious side effects. This invention was specifically designed to reduce nasal air resistance without the use of drugs.        f. Adhesive Free—Some of the prior art mechanical dilators utilize adhesives to attach a spring to the outside of the nose to separate the outer nasal tissue from the inner tissue. This adhesive can cause skin discoloration, irritation, and allergic reactions.        g. Reduced Irritation—My invention does not use adhesives and uses an inert material that comes in contact with the skin. The inert material, rounded contact surface, and reduced distributed forces that come in contact with the nasal cavity significantly reduces the probability of irritation.        h. Re-Useable—Unlike the prior art, this invention is re-useable and can be applied and removed as often as the user wishes. This is very advantageous when used at night or to satisfy intermittent short term needs.        i. Self Adjusting and Adjustable—My invention has two self adjusting features. The loop sections, tend to conform to the contour of the individual nostril vestibule. In addition, the spring rate is relatively constant over the deflection range. This produces a consistent and comparable force on a wide variety of nose sizes. The bend of the retaining tube can be increased or decreased to respectively increase the force on the against the vestibule wall. The user can also move the loops around to find the most comfortable and effective placement. As an additional adjustability feature, the inserted loop sizes can be adjusted by trimming the length or moved the lines in and out of the retaining tube.        j. Accommodate Wide Range of Nose Sizes—The looped shape of this invention along with the self adjusting feature from fully relaxed to fully bent positions and adjustability allows this invention to fit and operate effectively for a wide range of noses.        k. Economical—With the simplicity of design and the relative ease of manufacturing, this invention can be made more economical than prior art.        l. Easily Applied and Removed—My invention can be easily taken out and applied with one hand in the dark. This is a significant advantage over prior art.        m. Safe—Safety was a primary consideration in the design of this invention. It was designed to limit the penetration and area of contact inside the nasal cavity. The rounded contact surface and light contact force virtually eliminates any irritation to the user. It is also made from an inert material which does not react with human skin. The material is also flexible and smooth and is not abrasive to the sensitive nasal tissue.        n. Promotes Wellness—Quality of sleep affects both our mental and physical will being. My invention helps to reduce sleep disruptions resulting from excessive breathing through the mouth and nasal restrictions. The nose is designed to both condition the air we breathe by adding moisture and temperature. The nose also provides vital filtration to reduce harmful air particles and pollution from entering our lungs. My invention promotes nasal breathing and better filtration which results in more conditioning and filtration of the air we breathe. My invention therefore promotes wellness by improving sleep as well as the quality of air we breathe.        
In addition to the above features, my invention also provides the option for the alternative health benefit claims of copper and magnetism. Since my invention has parts in contact with the skin, it can provide some of the same benefits as copper jewelry. Various forms of copper have been used for medicinal purposes throughout the history of mankind. The ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Persian, Hindu and Aztec writings record various consistent medicinal uses of copper.
Today, as more information becomes available, alternative health care and home remedies are gaining popularity. Health publications now frequently include copper bracelets and copper jewelry as a home therapy remedy to ease the pain from arthritis and other joint problems. These benefits are found in many people who seem to get an insufficient amount of copper from their food. Several doctors who have studied this copper connection think the dissolved copper traces entering the body through the skin from a copper bracelet may be the only way for people to get the copper they need.
My invention also plans for an optional magnetic feature. Alternative medical studies have also made a number of claims concerning the benefits of magnets and magnetism. Some of the benefits that magnetic therapy claims to provide include: pain relief, reduction of swelling, improved tissue alkalinization, more restful sleep, increased tissue oxygenation, relief of stress, increased levels of cellular oxygen, improved blood circulation and anti-infective activity. Although my invention does not intend to provide the intensity and configuration of magnetism to gain all the benefits above, it does provide for an option to provide a small magnetic field for whatever benefit it may provide.